TRASH FACTS

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GO GREEN W

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RECYCLING

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INFO

...for more information,visit our website at www.houstonsolidwaste.org or call 3-1-1

The Citizen’s Guide to City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department Services

~Printed on Recycled Paper~

City

of H

ousto

n Biodegradable/Compostable Bag

City Approved

Residential Services: At Your Curbside

the

Adopt - A- Container Programorganizations may request

large bulk containers for weekend neighborhood cleanup campaigns. Requests must be sent to the SWMD in writing at least 14 days prior to the anticipated cleanup date. Bulk con-

Friday and collected on Monday. Only -

ganizations coordinating a neighbor-hood cleanup campaign are eligible to sponsor bulk containers. For more information, call 3-1-1.

Sylvester Turner,Mayor

Harry J. HayesDirector

Dead AnimalsDead animals can be picked up by call-ing 311, the City’s Customer Service Hotline. A fee is required for large dead animal pickup. For large animal pickup during the weekend, please call 311 from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Do not place dead animals with household garbage or tree waste / junk waste collection.

For dead animals on the freeway and feeder, call TXDOT at 713-802-5000.

FinesViolation of any provision of the solid waste ordinance is punishable upon

$50 nor more than $2,000. Each sub-sequent conviction is punishable by

than $2,000. Each day that any viola-tion continues may be punishable as a

Yard TrimmingsYard Trimmings, grass clippings, small branches and leaves must not be placed in the automated garbage cans. They must be in city-approved compostable bags not weighing more than 50 pounds, and placed at the curb 3 feet away from the automated container for separate yard trimmings

collection. Small branch-es may be put in bundles as long as each bundle is less than 4 feet in length and 18 inches in diameter and weighing less than 50 pounds. Yard Trim-mings mixed with paper, plastic, or any other type of waste will not be col-lected. Work performed by a contractor must be removed by the contrac-tor.

Household garbage must be put in- side the city-provided container which should be placed at the curb between 6 p.m. the day before and 7 a.m. on the scheduled collection day. The contain-er must be accessible to the automated collection truck and not blocked by ob-stacles, including parked cars. Drivers will not move improperly placed con-tainers. Containers must be removed

from the curbline and/or public view by 10:00 p.m. on the day of collection and stored in a secure location. The garbage container is for disposing of regular household garbage only. Certain items should not be disposed of in your garbage container either because they are too heavy for SWMD equipment or because they may harm employees, prop-erty, neighbors, pets, and the environment. Therefore, do not put 1) household chemicals, 2) construction, demolition, and remodeling debris, 3) dead animals, 4) computer equipment, 5) recyclables or 6) yard trimmings in the container.

Garbage Collection

Page 2 The TRASH FACTS

...for more information, visit our website at www.houstonsolidwaste.org or call 3-1-1.

signs, or mailboxes; next to fences or posts; or on top of water meters,

exposed utility components. Also, materials should not be placed in the street, on the sidewalk, or other right-of-way, or in any manner that would interfere with pedestrian

waste and junk waste col-lection is limited to resi-dential units and vacant residential lots only if the waste generated is in con-nection with the main-tenance of the property. The SWMD is not allowed to collect any material that was generated by contractors who were retained by a resident to per-form work on his or her residential

property. It is the responsi-bility of the contractor to re-move, or cause to be removed, all debris that may arise from the course of his or her activi-ties. These contractor related

activities include, but are not limited to, trim-ming and removal of trees, remodeling, new construction and roof-ing. If authorized items placed for collection are mixed with unau-thorized items, depart-ment personnel shall not be obligated to sort the materials and may refuse the entire load.

Solid waste collection services are not available to multi-residential structures of more

than eight units.

Neighborhood Depositories/Recycling CentersResidents may dispose of

tree waste / junk waste at one of the City’s neighborhood depository facilities. Each user must provide proof of residen-cy, including a Texas Driver’s Li-cense or ID, a current utility bill or city property tax receipt. The depositories accept the same materials as the tree waste / junk waste collection (furni-ture, stoves, refrigerators, etc.) Depositories will accept up to 10 tires per month, per house-hold. Residents must unload their tires and place them in a

brought in a commercial vehi-cle will not be accepted. SWMD

personnel will not unload your tires or tree waste / junk waste. Residents may use depositories four times per month. Locations are now open Wed. - Sun., except

*.m.p 7 ot .m.a 01 morf syadilohCitizens are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing to allow adequate time to unload. All depositories also accept recy-clables. Materials accepted include aluminum and tin cans, tree waste, plastic bottles and jugs (#I-#5 and #7), newspapers and magazines, glass bottles and jars, and used motor oil.

* Daylight Savings - Hours change from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The City will collect tree waste exclusively on odd months on the resident’s current tree waste /junk waste collection day. “Tree

waste”, which consists of tree limbs, branches or stumps. Lumber, furniture and treated wood will not be accepted. On even months residents may set out their junk waste at the curb for city collection. “Junk waste” is used to describe items such as furniture, appliances and other bulky materials. These items should be placed adjacent to the front curb in a location eas-ily accessible to the collection vehicle between the hours of 6:00 p.m. the Friday before, and 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled col-lection day. No more than eight cubic yards per residence will be collected on the scheduled tree waste/junk waste collection day. Of this amount, only a maximum of four cubic yards of building

shingles, brick, plaster or con-crete) generated by the resident in connection with the mainte-nance of the residential property may be collected by department personnel. A maximum of four (4) tires per month, per house-hold may be placed curbside for collection. Sheet rock must be bagged. Appliances con-taining refrigerant must have a tag attached to them certifying that a removed the refrigerant. Ma-terials should not be stacked under low overhead cabling,

Tree Waste / Junk Waste Recycling

Program

The Tree Waste Program diverts waste from

space.

January Tree WasteFeburary Junk Waste March Tree WasteApril Junk Waste May Tree WasteJune Junk WasteJuly Tree WasteAugust Junk Waste September Tree WasteOctober Junk WasteNovember Tree WasteDecember Junk Waste

Tree Waste/Junk WasteCollection Schedule

Neighborhood Depository &Recycling Center Locations

North 9003 N Main 3-1-1Northwest 14400 Sommermeyer 3-1-1Northeast 5565 Kirkpatrick 3-1-1South 5100 Sunbeam 3-1-1Southwest 10785 SW Freeway 3-1-1Southeast 2240 Central Street 3-1-1

City Recycling Centers (Junk Waste not accepted)

Westpark Recycling Cntr.5900 Westpark, 77057

Ellington Airport/Clear Lake246 Loop Rd., 77034

Kingwood Recycling Cntr.3210 West Lake Houston Pkwy

Page 3 The TRASH FACTS

...for more information, visit our website at www.houstonsolidwaste.org or call 3-1-1.

Going Green with SWMD

B.O.P.A. (Batteries, Used Oil, Latex Paint, & Antifreeze)

batteries, used oil, latex paint, anti-freeze and tires from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except holidays. The facility is a drive through operation so you do not have to unload your own vehicle.

Automated Recycling - utilizes a 96-gallon green cart rolled to the curb for collection.

What items can you recycle?Newspaper Magazines Catalogs Phone Books Used Motor Oil

WESTPARK RECYCLING CENTER The Westpark Consumer Recycling Center, 5900 Westpark, allows Houstonians the opportunity to recycle their used goods. The center accepts

Clean, white styrofoam blocks (plastic #6) are accepted at the Westpark Recycling Center and ESC South. Packing “peanuts” are not accepted. Sty-rofoam is not accepted in the curbside recycling program.

The center is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Environmental Service Centers

as anti-freeze, batteries, fuel, oil, paint, paint thinner, pesticides, herbicides and household cleaners. Residential electronic scrap items will also be accepted (monitors, televisions, printers, keyboards, mice, scanners, fax machines, telephone handsets, VCRs, CPUs, cellular phones and other small consumer electronics). These items should not be placed on the curb with or in your container for collection with garbage or tree waste / junk waste pickup. Clean, white styrofoam blocks (plastic #6) are now accepted at the ESC- South location. Packing “peanuts” are not accepted.

North - 5614 Neches, Building C (open 2nd Thursday of the month from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.)

South - 11500 South Post Oak (open every Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. and the 2nd Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.)

Free Reuse Chemical and Paint Take-AwayEvery Friday from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., household chemicals and paint that were brought to the ESC for disposal, but appear to be in good condition are made available for citizen reuse. Citizens may take away these items at no charge. A signed liability waiver will be required before removing materi-als from the site. There is a limit of six (6) chemical items and a cart load of paint per week. This service is only available at the ESC South location.

Recycling must be put inside the city-provided container which should be placed at the curb between 6 p.m. the day before and 7 a.m. on the scheduled collection day. The container must be accessible to the collection truck and not blocked by obstacles, including parked cars. Drivers will not move improperly placed containers. Containers must be removed from the curbline and/or public view by 10:00 p.m. on the day of collection and stored in a secure location.

Plastic Containers #1 - 5 and 7 (rinsed & drained) Aluminum and Tin Cans (rinsed & drained)

curbside recycling bin. You may still recycle glass at all City

website www.houstonsolidwaste.org/recycling.

Add-A-Can

This program provides residents with the opportunity of having a second or third gar-bage can serviced for a fee. Residents will have their first 96-gallon can serviced free. The fee for servicing the second/ third can may be added to the citizen’s monthly water bill upon request of the service. Citizens who already have an extra can and wish to contin-ue to have it collected will need to request a sticker for it. Call 3-1-1 to enroll in Add-A-Can.

Tags For Bags

Extra bags of garbage are collected only if they have a special tag attached. The “Tags for Bags” program allows residents the con-venience of purchasing “tags” instead of additional cans if they require extra service occasionally. These tags may be purchased at Fiesta, HEB, Sellers Bros. and participating Kroger stores. Residents may also down-load an order form at houstonsolidwaste.org and send the completed form and payment through the mail. Yard waste bags do not re-quire tags.

Construction material accounts for 38% of the waste stream in the Houston area. The Reuse Warehouse, a component of the City of Houston Solid Waste Management De-partment, benefits the community by pro-viding space for excess building materials that would otherwise be dumped in local landfills. The facility accepts material from individuals, supply companies, and builders, and makes it freely available for reuse by any non-profit organization. The Reuse Ware-

house is funded in part by a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council. Location:9003 N. Main St.Houston, TX 77022

Contact Information:3-1-1 orreuse.warehouse@houstontx.gov

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Tuesday - Friday:8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Closed: Sunday - Monday

City of HoustonSolid Waste Management Department PO Box 1562Houston, TX 77251

www.houstonsolidwaste.orgHouston residents can dial 3-1-1 for non-emergency calls. The 3-1-1 Service Center provides Houstonians with one easy to remember tele-phone number for quick reliable access.

ReUse Warehouse

Extra Capacity Collection FeeOn June 19, 2002, Houston’s City Council approved an ordinance amending Article IV of Chapter 39 of the Houston Code of Ordinances, approving and authorizing the creation of an Extra Capacity Collection Fee (ECC) for the SWMD. Under the umbrella of the ECC ordi-nance, the Add-A-Can and the Tags for Bags Program were created. Implementation of both programs began October I, 2002.

Remember:

Try to Reduce,

Reuse and Recycle

as much as you

can!

Don’t Waste Waste!

Page 4 The TRASH FACTS

The Trash Facts is a newsletter published by the Solid Waste Management Department. Information may be reproduced for public dissemination by civic groups and neighborhood

organizations.

Harry J. Hayes, SWMD Director

Irma Reyes, Public Information Officer

SWD09292014

REQUEST THE SOLID WASTE MASCOT To request the Solid Waste Management Department mascot or a Speaker from the SWMD please call 3-1-1, the City’s Customer Service Hotline.